Headlight for automobiles.



S. J. MENEELY.

HEADLIGHT FOR AUTOMOBILES.

APPucATloN FILED rsa. s. 1916.

Patented Sept. 5, 1916.

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SAMUEL il". LENEELY, 0F NEWBURGH, NEW YORK.

HEADLBGHT FOR AUTOMOBILES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Fatented dept. 5, i916.

Application filed February 5, 1916. Serial No. 76,287.

To all Izii/"1.0m it may concern.'

Be it known that ll', SAMUEL J. MENEELY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Newburgh, in the county of @range and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful lmprovements in Headlights for Automobiles, ttc.; and l do hereby declarethe following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as'will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention consists in the novel features hereinafter described, reference being had to the accompanying drawing which shows several forms or embodiments of the invention selected by me for purposes of illustration, and the said invention is fully disclosed, in the following description and claims.

Referring to the drawings: Figure l represents a side elevation of a head light embodying my invention; Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view of the same; llig. 3 is a horizontal sectional view of the same; Fig. 4l-

is a vertical sectional view illustrating aslightly modified form of the head light; l? ig. 5 is a similar View representing another slight modification; Fig. 6 represents enlarged -detail sections of several forms of light reflecting vanes which l may employ in forming the screen or partition hereinafter referred to; Fig. l is a sectional view illustrating another slightly modified form Yof head light; liig. 8 is a detail of a bracket for supporting the same.

ln the use of head lights for motor vehicles particularly for automobiles, it is found that persons facing an advancing car, as for instance, the driverlof another automobile or vehicle are subject to a. strong glare from the reflector ordinarily used in head lights which affects the eye of the observer so powerfully as to' unvoluntarily cause the partial closing of the pupils of the observers eyes thus making it impossible for him to see objectsnear at hand which are illuminated by less powerful and more diffused light.

'lhe object of my invention is to so construct a head light that this objectionable effect on the eyes of the person meeting the vehicle carrying -the saine will be avoided. '.lhcse head lights are ordinarily mounted on the vehicle so that they normally throw a wide beam of light in a slightly downwardly direction. rlhe amount of light radlatedl directly from the source of light 1s not sufficient to produce the glare above referred to and this glare in my opinion is caused largely if not wholly by the concentration and reflectionof the light upon the lower half of the reflector, which is usually of parabolic form and which will 'be projected from the lower half of the reflector in an upward and forward direction.

ln Figs. l, 2 and 3 l have shown my `invention applied to an ordinary type o-f head light vin which electric'light is the illuminant, and in which l represents the lamp casing or body, 2 the parabolic reflector, 3 the front glass, and Ll the source of light, which in this instance is an electric bulb. 5 represents the supporting means for holding the head light on the vehicle, which is ordinarily in the form ofa fork or bifurcated support, the upper ends of which engage sleeves, 6, on the lamp body, which are secured to the bifurcated portions, 5, by means of set screws, 7, as indicated in Fig. l, although any other means of supporting the lam may be employed, and as shown in lfigs. l and 2 the lamp is ordinarily supported so that it is slightly inclined forward and downward. i

l prefer to support the electric light in vertical position instead of horizontal position as it is usually supported, in order to give full effect to that portion of the parabolic reflector, 2, directly in rear of the source of light, which is impossible when the lamp socket is directly in rear of the lamp. Thelamp may be supported in'any desired manner `and should have its center of illumination in proper relation to the parabolic reflector', and as lamps vary somewhat l prefer toprovide means for adjusting the source of light horizontally, that is to say, backward and forward, and also vertically to insure its being held in proper position within the reflector. ln this instance, l have shown a simple means for accomplishingr this result, the reflector being provided with a sleeve, 8, to receive a horizontal tubular support, 9, which is secured therein by a set sci'ew, l0, and permits the adjustment of the tube, 9, horizontally toward and from the rear of the reflector. rlhe tubular support, 9, is provided with a vertically disposed aperturein which is fitted a vertically movable sleeve, 1l,hcld in place by a set screw, l2, and carrying at its upper -end the lamp socket-into which the lamp is screwed in the usualtmanner, thus providing I Afor the horizontal and vertical adjustment of the lamp which is supplied with current by means of the usual conductorsgfl.

Forward of the lamp and slightly below the center of illumination thereof, I arrange a horizontally disposed screen eX- tending above the lower portion of the lamp, and in Figs. 1 and 2, extending above as glass, metal, etc., but I prefer to make them of metal and to provide each -vane "on its 'rear face with a reflecting surface. rI`he vanes may be concave, as shown at 14, see

, particularly Fig. 6, or they may be conveX,

as indicated at 14a, and they may be curved -or angular or straight in cross section, the

latter forms being indicated at 14b and 14c, and 14d, Fig. 6. I prefer, however, the form indicated at 14 with a' concave rear face and these vanes are so disposed in the head light, and preferably within the reflector thereof that the light falling upon them from the source will be reflected against the upper portion of the reflector, 2, and will thereby be reflected forward as a part of the horizontal light beam, or downwardly,

'the construction being such that no light can be reflected from the reflector in an upward direction above the level of the upper edge of the reflector indicated by the dotted line X in Fig. 2.

The light from the electric lamp itself would not be sufficient to produce a glare which would materially affect the eye of the observer, and yas the driver of another automobile will have his eye materially above the plane indicated by the line, X,

y in Fig. 2, the screenY formed by the vanes will prevent any portion of the reflector or any portion of the lamp below the center of illumination from producing a glare in his eyes, thus permitting the pupil to remain in a substantially relaxed and open condition, soas to permit him to see objects in diffused light near at hand.

In case my invention is applied toa lamp such as is illustrated in Figs. 1, 2 and 3 A having the ordinary parabolic reflector, any

light falling upon the lower portion of the reflector around the lamp socket or through the spaces between the vanes, if they arel sufliciently separated to permit the passage of light therethrough, would be simply `the glare referred to.

These vanes i Amay be made of any suitable material such mer/eee thrown forwardly, but could' not produce In some instances the vanes may be pivotally mounted in the lamp instead .of being rigidly mounted therein, and in Figs. l, 2 and 3, I have shown them -pivotally mounted and connected for joint movement by a horizontally disposed bar, 15, pivotallv connected to the central Vportion -of their lower edges. I have also shown one of the pivots, indicated at 16 in Figs. 1 and 3, extended through the casing and provided with anactuating arm, 17, connected by a rod or other connection, 18, with an actuating device or lever, 19, which may be mounted on some portion of the car accessible to the driver and provided with a segmental ratchet, 20, or other locking means by which the arm, 19, 'will be held in any position to which it is moved. By these means the vanes may be turned so as to permit the light to pass to the lower portion ofthe reflector, if desired, when the vehicle is not yapproaching any automobile and the vanes may be rocked into position, as shown in Fig. 2, on meeting any person or any vehicle in the road. rIhe pivot, #16, may also be provided with means for adjustably securing the vanes in their adjusted position. In this instance, I have shown the pivot, 16, provided with the slotted segment, 21, the slot of which is engaged by a threaded stud, 22, on the lamp body provided with a wing nut, 23, by means of which the vanes can be rigidly secured in position and the arm, 17, and its connections might be altogether omitted, if desired. It will be seen that the light which falls in a downwardly direction from the source of light upon the reflecting V'anes is not lost but is thrown upward and rearward against the reflector, 2, and outward horizontally and downward therefrom so that thexilluminated power of the lamp is not materially decreased, either in the forwardly extending horizontal beam or the more diffused rays which are thrown downwardly upon the roadway.

In Fig. 4 I have shown a modified form of head light in which the lower portion of the reflector here indicated at 102 is practically dispensed with, being e1ther cutaway or brought forward in a hor1zontal plane below the screenformed by the transverse vanes, 114, the other parts of the lamp being constructed substantially as' heretofore described and operating in substan- 'Atially the same manner, 101 "representing the lamp casing, 1 03 the glass front, 104 the lamp, which is preferably mounted 1n the same manner as in Figs. 1, 2 and 3.

In this form of lamp any light rotated downwardly from the lamp and not falling on the vanes, 114, is practically lost, but would not cause the glare by reason of the screen preventing the throwing of rays of as in Figs. l and 5.

ademas light upwardly and forwardly from the re fleeting surface. l prefer to make the portion of the reflector below the horizontal plane of the center of illumination subd stantially vertical as shown at 102 so as to prevent any upward'reflection of the light.

ln Fig. 5 l have shown another slight modification of my invention in which 201 represents the lamp casing, which is substantially of the form shown in Fig. 4, except that the bottom 'is provided with a light diffusing aperture, 2013, closed by a glass or other transparent plate, 201. rlhe reflector, 202, is of semi parabolic form above the plane of the center of illumination and extends downwardly in a substantially vertical direction therefrom as indicated at 202, the lamp, 204: being supported substantially as hereinbefore described, the casing being provided with the front glass, 203, and with the reflecting vanes, 214, arranged as shown in the other figures, so as to reflect the light falling thereon against lthe upper portion of the reflector. ln this form of the head light any rays of light which pass downwardly from the source of light and -not' falling on the vanes, 214, will pass through the glass, 201, and light the roadway in the immediate vicinity of the head light.

ln Fig. 2' l have shown another slight modification in which 301 indicates the casing, which is entirely open at the front and bottom and is closed by a curved glass, 303, which provides for the passage of the forward light ray, and also for the diffusion of light downwardly upon the roadway beneath and forward of the device. 302 is the reflector, which is preferably of the form of the upper half of a parabolic reflector, the

' lower portion being made substantially vertical so as to prevent any upward reflection,

304 is the lamp supported. as hereinbefore described, in proper relation with the reflector, and 314 are the reflecting vanes forming a horizontal parti tion forward of and below the center of' illumination of the lamp as in the other figures, and connected for joint adjustment by the rod, 315. lThis form of lamp is very simple and compact and provides as before stated for the projection of the forward ray from the reflector, 302, as well as the distribution of light downwardly around the lamp and between the vanes, 3,14, to the ground while the partition formed by the vanes prevents the projection of any up wardly extending rays. ln this form of lamp l have shown the casing provided with a perforated supporting lug 32S on its upper side, which is adapted to/engage-a supporting stem, 327, o'n the bracket, 326, for example, as illustrated in Fig. 8, and to be rigidly secured thereto by a suitable nut, so as to hold the lamp rigidly without having any portion of the supp-ort extending beneath the lamp to cause a shadow on the ground. l do not limit myself to the form forwardly, and may thus be made to reflect the `light falling thereon, downwardly, if desired.

What l claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

l. ln a head light, the combination with a source of light and a reflector in rear of the same, of a horizontally disposed screen, extending forwardly of and slightly below the center of' the source of light, and comprising a plurality of transversely disposed angular-ly arranged varies, having their faces adjacent to the sourceof light opposed to portions of the reflector above the level of the center of the light source.

2. ln a head light, the combination with a source of light and a reflector in rear of the same, of a horizontally disposed screen, extending forwardly of and slightly below the center of the source of light, and comprising a plurality of transversely disposed angularly arranged vanes, having reflecting surfaces on the sides thereof adjacent to the source of light, for reflecting the light falling thereon upwardly and rearwardly into the reflector. j

3. ln a head light, the combination with a source of light and a reflector in rear of the same, of a horizontally .disposed screen, extending forwardly of and slightly below the center of the source of light, and comprising a plurality of transversely disposed angularly arranged vanes, having reflecting surfaces on the sides thereof adjacent to the source of light, for reflecting the light falling thereon upwardly and rearwardly into the reflector, said vanes being pivotally mounted, and means for moving said blades upon their pivotal axes.

4. ln a head light, the combination with a source of light and a reHector in rear of the same, of a horizontally disposed screen,

Aextending forwardly of and slightly below the center of the source of light, and comprising a plurality of transversely disposed angularly arranged vanes, reflecting surfaces on the sides thereof adjacent to the 4source of light, for reflecting the light falling thereon upwardly and rearwardlylinto the reflector, said vanes being pivotally mounted, and means for securing said blades in adjusted positions about their pivotal axes.

5. ln a head light, the combination with a source of light and a reflector having portions in rear of the same, and portions extending above the source of light, of a plurality of transversely arranged reflecting vanes arranged within the reflector and extending horizontally forward of and slightly below the center of the light source, the headlight being provided with a light diffusing opening below the said vanes, to permit the light passing between and around the same to be thrown to the ground.

6. ln a head light, the combination with a casing and reflector, of a vertically disposed electric lamp therein, said reflector having portions in rear of and portions eX- tending above said lamp, of a horizontally disposed screen lextending forwardly of and slightly below the center of illumination of said lamp, and comprising transversely disposed reiectng vanes for reflecting the light rearwardly into the reflector.

ln a head light, the combination with a casing and reflector, of a vertically disposed electric lamp therein, said reflector having portions in rear of and portions eX- tending above said lamp, of means for adjusting said lamp horizontally and vertically with respect to the reflector, a horizontally disposed screen extending forwardly 0f and nier/,eee

slightly below the center of illumination of said lamp, and comprising transversely disposed reflecting vanes for reflecting the light rearwardly into the reflector.

8. ln a head light, the combination with a casing having a continuous opening at its front and bottom, transparent material covering said continuous opening and extending around the front and bottom of the casing, a source of light within the casing, and a reflector having portions in rear of and above the source of light for reflecting the light forwardly and downwardly and a horizontally disposed screen extending transversely of the casing and located forward of and slightly below the center of the source of light.

9. ln a head light, the combination with a casing having a continuous opening at its front and bottom, transparent material covering said continuous opening and extending around the front and bottom of the casing, a source of light within the casing, a reflector having portions in rear of and above the source of light for reflecting the light forwardly and downwardly, and a plurality of transversely arranged reflecting vanes arranged within the reflector and extending horizontally forward of and slightly below the center of the light source.

ln testimony whereof l affix my signature.

SAMUEL J. MENEELY. 

